Ricossa makes this one in Piedmont, from Nebbiolo grown on the hills of the Langhe. Barolo DOCG is the strictest address in the region: the wine must be all Nebbiolo, and it must spend at least three years ageing before it can carry the name. 2017 was a warm, dry year in Piedmont, and the wines came out generous and dark-fruited, with the structure still firmly in place.
- Nebbiolo, the only grape allowed in Barolo.
- Barolo DOCG, Piedmont, northern Italy.
- 2017, a warm vintage in the Langhe.
- Dry, full bodied, high tannin and high acidity.
- 14.5% alcohol in a 750ml bottle.
How it is made
Nebbiolo is a late-ripening grape, picked in October when the fog settles over the Langhe hills. It gives colour slowly and tannin easily, which is why Barolo has always been a wine built for time rather than for the year it was bottled. The appellation rules do the rest: three years minimum before release, two of them in wood.
How it tastes
Red cherry and rose petal first, then tar, the note that has followed Barolo around for a century, and a little leather underneath. The tannins are firm and drying, the acidity is high enough to keep the fruit lifted, and the finish is long. This is a wine that opens up in the glass as it sits.
Good to know
Barolo is grown on the hills around the town of the same name in the Langhe, and the best sites are divided into crus the way Burgundy is. The grape's name is thought to come from nebbia, the Italian for fog, which arrives in the vineyards right around harvest.
